A fruit vendor sells on Whittier Boulevard in East L.A.
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Andrew Lopez
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Boyle Heights Beat
)
Topline:
Most recently, state Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo — whose jurisdiction includes unincorporated East L.A. — introduced a bill that seeks to explore whether cityhood, or incorporation, is possible. The bill, AB 2986, is moving forward, but not without opposition.
The backstory: It’s not uncommon for people to refer to East L.A. as the "City of East L.A." After all, L.A. culture is heavily influenced by East Los Angeles, a region that is home to the historic 1968 Walkouts and where iconic films like Blood In, Blood Out and Stand and Deliver took place. But East L.A., a region of nearly 120,000 who are mostly Latino, is not a city. There is no mayor or city council making decisions for East L.A. residents. That’s because East L.A. is an unincorporated community within the county of Los Angeles. Efforts to incorporate East L.A. into a city have failed in the past, with one of the latest attempts failing in 2012.
What's next: The seven members of the Senate Appropriations Committee will review the bill in August. The bill still needs to be voted on by the full legislature before heading to the governor’s desk for a signature or veto.
This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on July 31, 2024, and is the first installment in a series on the efforts to explore East L.A. cityhood.
It’s not uncommon for people to refer to East L.A. as the "City of East L.A." After all, L.A. culture is heavily influenced by East Los Angeles, a region that is home to the historic 1968 Walkouts and where iconic films like Blood In, Blood Out and Stand and Deliver took place.
But East L.A., a region of nearly 120,000 who are mostly Latino, is not a city.
There is no mayor or city council making decisions for East L.A. residents. That’s because East L.A. is an unincorporated community within the county of Los Angeles.
The representative of East L.A. is county Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district — in addition to East L.A. — includes portions of 20 other cities, as well as dozens of unincorporated communities and City of L.A. neighborhoods that encompass nearly 2 million residents. In East L.A., services like police, street maintenance, building and development, libraries and parks and recreation are deferred to the county.
Given the size of East L.A.’s population and its cultural significance, some residents would like to have more say when it comes to decision-making in the region. They want to know if East L.A. is getting an equitable share of county services. And, they’re calling on the county to be more transparent in how it spends on services across the region.
Efforts to incorporate East L.A. into a city have failed in the past, with one of the latest attempts failing in 2012 when the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angeles found that the unincorporated area would not be able to financially sustain cityhood.
Most recently, state Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo — whose jurisdiction includes unincorporated East L.A. — introduced a bill to the state Legislature this spring that seeks to explore whether cityhood, or incorporation, is possible.
The bill, AB 2986, is moving forward, but not without opposition.
What is AB 2986?
The bill calls for a study exploring whether East L.A. has the tax base to be able to sustain itself as its own city or special district.
Introduced by Carrillo in March, the bill initially called for an 11-person task force — made up of stakeholders and residents appointed by the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angeles (LAFCO) — to conduct this study. LAFCO, an independent agency that approves the formation of cities, in 2012 denied a proposed incorporation of East L.A.
Guadalupe Mural at La Milagrosa Market in East Los Angeles.
(
Antonio Mejías-Rentas
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Boyle Heights Beat
)
The bill, however, has since changed.
Now, instead of the LAFCO-appointed task force, the bill establishes the County of Los Angeles as the agency required to submit a feasibility study by March 2025 that analyzes if East L.A. has the fiscal viability to become a special district or city.
Carrillo has made it clear, the bill would not mandate cityhood. It would simply study the possibility of it.
“We want to see better representation,” Carrillo said at a community meeting in April. “I no longer want to hear what’s not feasible, I want to hear what’s possible.”
The bill, as it stands, would cost the county an estimated $14 million, according to a letter from L.A. County Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport.
Why did the bill change?
The bill changed after a number of amendments were made at a July 3 hearing of the state senate local government committee. The bill moved forward, as amended, with a 5-0 vote.
These amendments reflect language from two motions that Solis spearheaded and that the rest of the county supervisors unanimously approved in April and May. With these proposals, Solis, who opposes Carrillo’s bill, is saying the county can do this work without overreach from the state.
Wendy Carrillo and Kristie Hernandez at the listening session.
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Andrew Lopez
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Boyle Heights Beat
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Now, the proposed bill mandates the county to conduct the feasibility study, as well as give annual reports detailing services and investments in unincorporated communities with populations of over 10,000. The county would also produce campaigns informing unincorporated area residents about county services, projects and programs.
The latest developments have spurred confusion among some residents who are unsure what this means for the proposed legislation.
Some say the bill was “gutted,” after the LAFCO-established task force — which was to meet quarterly and incorporate “robust community engagement” — was removed to instead appoint the county to prepare the study.
Particularly confusing is the fact that both Solis and Carrillo have touted the amendments as a win, even as the supervisor continues to oppose the legislation.
Solis said that the latest version of the bill, rejects the original language, and reaffirms the bill is “duplicative, fundamentally flawed, and expensive.”
Carrillo, however, said she made these amendments as a way to hold county officials accountable. She told the Beat that the attention brought to the bill ultimately benefits the residents of East L.A., no matter who leads the study.
Who favors this bill?
Supporters of the bill include advocates calling for more transparency on tax revenue generated by the community. They’re also asking if an equitable share of county services are funneled back to East L.A.
Kristie Hernandez, a longtime community organizer and East L.A. resident, supports Carrillo’s efforts and said investments in the community should reflect the fact that the region is the largest unincorporated area in California. Hernandez said residents also have a hard time navigating county bureaucracy.
Business owners like Tony DeMarco gathered at Carrillo’s listening session in April in support of her bill. DeMarco stressed the need for more economic stimulation along Whittier Boulevard.
Other supporters include the East L.A. Coalition, Maravilla Community Advisory Committee, Los Angeles Lowrider Alliance and the Whittier Blvd Merchant Association of East Los Angeles, among others.
If her bill passes, Carrillo said it signals that “the state has invested in having the county report to the Legislature.”
“It starts off a process of real transparency and real local community voices being part of the process,” Carrillo said.
Who opposes it?
Solis and her office have been quick to publicly oppose the bill, noting that cityhood efforts have failed in the past. The supervisor has pointed to the LAFCO study that projected a massive deficit, concluding that the East L.A. area would not be able to adequately support services like a police force and fire department, things the county already provides.
Some East LA residents held signs voicing their opposition to the bill.
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Andrew Lopez
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Boyle Heights Beat
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LAFCO opposes Carrillo’s bill, according to its chief officer Paul Novak.
“We remain opposed to the bill, even in its amended version,” Novak told the Beat.
East Area Progressive Democrats representatives called the bill a “slapdash effort” in a letter addressed to the state Senate. They said the money to fund the study should instead go directly to residents.
Others in East L.A. fear a loss of community services and that their taxes could be raised if cityhood happens down the line. Some have shared those concerns on Solis’s Instagram page and during public comment during a County Board of Supervisors meeting in April.
Among other opponents of the bill are East L.A. Community Corporation, the City of Monterey Park, and dozens of other county, union and grassroots groups.
What happens next?
The seven members of the Senate Appropriations Committee will review the bill in August. The bill still needs to be voted on by the full legislature before heading to the governor’s desk for a signature or veto.
If the governor signs the bill, the county would be required to report its findings by March of 2025. If it fails, the county will still conduct its proposed cityhood feasibility study and report on county investments in East Los Angeles with results to be shared in the early fall.
At a community meeting on Saturday, July 27, Genesis Coronado, a renter in East L.A. said that even if the bill fails, it still spurred conversations about government transparency and holding elected officials accountable, things she marked as a win for all East L.A. residents.
